Guinea protesters freed after being forced to eat

By ABOU BAKR Associated Press Writer

CONAKRY, Guinea (AP) - Guinea's military junta knew how to stop demonstrators who went on a hunger strike to protest last month's massacre: They took them to a restaurant and forced them to eat under threat of death, the protesters said Friday.

The 10 hunger strikers were released Friday, two days after they were taken away by the ruling military junta and later detained inside a shipping crate with breathing holes.

"Last night, the military sent us to a restaurant near the junta's headquarters. They demanded we end the hunger strike or they would kill us," Souleymane Balde told The Associated Press.

Another protester, Christophe Kone, said that the military "roughed them up" while in custody.

"They took all of our money, our telephones. Then they forced us into a container," he said. "It was God who saved us."

Wednesday marked the one-month anniversary of a pro-democracy rally where soldiers opened fire on 50,000 protesters and raped women in broad daylight, witnesses said. A Guinean human rights group says 157 people were killed, while the government put the death toll at 57.

Tens of thousands took part in a general strike Wednesday. The 10 who announced they were taking part in a hunger strike were arrested.

"A hunger strike is a crime in our country," said Soriba Camara, one of the 10 released Friday. "We are in danger of death in Guinea with this military."

Capt. Moussa "Dadis" Camara seized power hours after longtime dictator Lansana Conte died last December. Camara initially said he would not run in elections scheduled for Jan. 31, 2010, but recently indicated that he may have changed his mind.

The violence in Guinea has drawn widespread condemnation, with U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton calling for Camara to apologize and step down.

Late Thursday, the African Union said it will impose travel bans and freeze the assets of Guinea's military junta, the latest effort to step up international pressure on the junta. The move comes days after the European Union imposed an arms embargo and visa ban on Guinea's military leaders. The United States also has enacted restrictions barring certain members of Guinea's military junta and government from entering the U.S.